Vietnam - The End of the War Notes

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NIXON AND VIETNAM

Nixon's Vietnam policy - Vietnamization - the policy for winding down the war
  • troops were withdrawn, training and equipment was given to South Vietnamese, by 1972, only 24,200 troops remained
  • However, bombing raids increased, hurting the supply lines of North Vietnam - the bombing expanded to other countries - Laos and Cambodia
  • U.S. ground forces invaded Cambodia in spring 1970 – this led to more opposition
  • May 4, 1970 - Kent State University


Peace talks -1972 - between Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho

In July, word leaked that Henry Kissinger had been meeting privately in Paris with the North Vietnamese Foreign Secretary
  • in October, only days before the election, Kissinger announced that "Peace is at Hand "
  • several weeks later, after the election, talks broke down again
  • January 27, 1973 - agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam in VietnamU.S. troops leave Vietnam POW's released, cease-fire between the North and South
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THE FALL OF SAIGON

  • North Vietnamese military attacks
  • Saigon falls
  • Vietnam is reunited under communism
  • North Vietnam wins the war (which means the US lost)
  • Saigon renamed to Ho Chi Minh City

The Legacy of Vietnam

In Southeast Asia:
  • 1.5 million Vietnamese deaths
  • countless Vietnamese civilians wounded, homeless
  • Agrarian society in shambles
  • Southeast Asia left highly unstable
  • Cambodia fell to communism after terror

In America: America Copes
  • 58,000 Americans killed
  • 365,000 wounded
  • $150 billion in direct costs
  • U.S. attempts to come to grips with a "loss" - blow to self-esteem

Several major U.S. changes as a result of the conflict
  • government abolished the draft , which had stirred up so much of the antiwar sentiment
  • War Powers Act - curb the power of the President for making war - US forces are sent into a hostile area without a declaration of war - the troops may only stay there 90 days unless Congress approves of the action and/or declares war
  • altered American foreign policy - risks are considered, because no one wants another Vietnam
  • overall cynicism in Americans about their government and their political leaders -


The Disillusionment of those who served
  • Veterans extended a cold hand
  • some veterans suffered from stress
  • many citizens embittered toward government
  • entire generation of Americans was affected

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 WHAT IS THE LEGACY OF VIETNAM?
  • Didn't want to create a second Vietnam
  • Many didn't tell their children much
  • Some compare the War in Afghanistan to the Vietnam War today